Monday, January 11, 2010
Sepoy Rebellion-Nationalist?
The Sepoy Rebellion occurred when the Hindus and Muslims rebelled against the British rule and how they disrespected aspects of their religion. While the British had power, they created advancements in the weapons they used. They came up with a new rifle in which the bullet had to be coated with pig fat and cow fat. The cow is sacred and should not be killed in the hindu religion and the pig should not be killed in the Muslim religion. They became furious and rebelled against the British. I think this is an example of nationalism...but only for their religion. Technically they were part of Britain but they had no pride for that nation, they only had pride for their religious heritage.
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I agree with this view of the situation. A lot of other people in our class keep saying that the rebellion was all about nationalism, but really the Sepoy were fighting for their religion. However, an argument can be made that they were indirectly fighting for their country and heritage because the were India natives fighting with the British. They were not born in Britain. So, since the beliefs that the Hindu and Muslim members of the Sepoy were rebelling in honor of originate in their homeland. The best way i can think of to describe this is indirect nationalism because they are fighting for part of what their homeland stands for rather than the homeland itself.
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